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Probably no person in history has been so widely admired as the
great Hebrew prophet Moses. Furthermore, his fame, as well as the
number of people who respect him, has steadily grown throughout the
ages. It is most likely that Moses flourished in the thirteen
century B.C., since Ramses II, generally thought to be the pharaoh
of the Exodus story died, in 1237 B.C. During Moses’ lifetime, as
the book of Exodus makes, clear, there were a fair number of Hebrews
who disagreed with his policies. Within five centuries, however,
Moses was revered by all the Jewish people. By 500 A.D. his fame and
reputation had spread, along with Christianity, throughout much
Europe. A century, later Muhammad recognized Moses as true prophet,
and with the spread of Islam, Moses became an admired figure
throughout the Moslem world (even in Egypt). Today, some thirty-two
centuries after he lived, Moses is honored by Jews, Christians, and
Moslems alike, and is even respected by many agnostics. Thanks to
modern communication, he is probably even better known today than he
was in the past.
Despite his renown, reliable information concerning
Moses’ life in scarce. There has even been speculation (not accepted
by most scholars) that Moses was an Egyptian, since his name is of
Egyptian, rather than Hebrew, origin. (It means “child” or “son,”
and occur as part of the name of the several famous pharaohs.) The
old testament stories concerning Moses can hardly be accepted at
face value, since they involve a large number of miracles. The
stories of burning bush, or of Moses turning his staff into a
serpent, for example, are basically miraculous in nature; and it
does tax one’s credulity, perhaps, to believe that Moses, who was
already eighty years old at the time of the Exodus still managed to
lead the Hebrews in a forty years trip through the desert
. Surely, we would like to know exactly what the real Moses
accomplished before his story was buried in an avalanche of legends.
Many persons have tired to give natural interpretations
to the Biblical stories of the ten plagues and the crossing of the
Red Sea. However, most of the favorite old Testament stories concerning Moses
are legendary, with analogous in other mythologies. The story of
Moses and the bulrushes for instance, is strikingly similar to a
Babylonian story concerning sarong of
Akkad, a great king
who reigned about 2360-2305 B.C.
In general, there are three major achievements
attributed to Moses. First, he is credited with being the political
figure who led the Hebrews in the Exodus from Egypt. On this point,
at least, it is clear that he deserves credit. Second, he is the
reputed author of the first five books of the Bible (Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), which or often
referred to as the ‘Five Books of Moses,” and which constitute the
Jewish Torah. These books include the Mosaic Code, the set of laws
which in principles governed the conduct of Jews in biblical times,
and which include the Ten Commandments. In view of the enormous
influence which the Torah as a whole and the Ten Commandments in
particular have had, their author would surely deserve to be
considered a man of enduring influence. However, most biblical
scholars agree that Moses was not the sole author of these books.
These books were apparently written by several authors, and the
great bulk of the material was not put into writing until
considerably after Moses’ death. It is possible that Moses played
some played some role in codifying existing Hebrew customs, or even
in originating Hebrews laws, but there is no way of judging how
great his role was.
Third, many people consider Moses to be the founder of
Jewish monotheism. In one sense, there is no basis at all for such a
claim. Our only source of information concerning Moses is the Old
Testament; and the Old T testament explicitly and unambiguously
credits Abraham with being the founder of monotheism. Nevertheless,
it is quit clear that Jewish monotheism would have died out had it
not been for Moses, and he unquestionably played the crucial role in
its preservation and transmission. In this of course, lies his
greatest importance, since Christianity and Islam, the two largest
religions in the world, are both derived from Jewish monotheism. The
idea of one true God, which Moses believed in so passionately, has
eventually spread through a large part of the world.
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